Meetings

I assume in the real world (since I don't always feel like my job as a teacher exists in the real world) that companies have their employees go to meetings. I think, however, that my school must exists on one of Dante's levels of hell since I am at so many freaking meetings that I am not sure what day of the week it is anymore.

This week alone I have 5 meetings to attend, 4 after school, 3 of those across town from my school. And yet I wonder why I am up at 3am feeling like this is the only time of the day that I am going to get any work done.

Monday's meeting taught me how to resize pictures (duh! I know how to do that). Tuesday's meeting taught me how to use a website that reports all of our scores on our state standardized test. The funny thing about this meeting, most of it was for administrators, but my admin felt it better to send a teacher who doesn't even have half the options they were telling me about. Wednesday's meeting I am sure is going to be about things we as teachers still need to get done in the building (gotta love a faculty meeting). I can hear this one now, follow the discipline plan, make sure you are going over the information on the pink sheet with each of your classes, teacher CAN NOT assign a student IBS, make sure you call parents if their child has zeros in your class and is failing right now....blah, blah, blah......That is why my folder for Wednesday meetings says "Please make the stupid people shut up". I won't even cover up the folder, I leave it out in the open for everyone to see. It is my subtle way of stating how much it bites sitting in another meeting when I could be TUTORING kids, but hey, what was I thinking? My job isn't about the kids it is about appearances. I only need to look like I am helping the kids and the kids only need to look like they are being successful.

Last night while talking to my husband about test scores and how to get them up (school is the topic of choice anytime we can just talk to each other, must be because we are both teachers). It occurred to both of us (as it should to anyone in education) that children can no longer think for themselves. I don't get it. When I was in school (God, I feel old when I say that), we didn't have teachers that "taught to a test". Any Texas teacher knows what this phrase means since we have had TAAS and now TAKS to deal with. Yet I was taught somewhere along the way how to reason through questions on a test and pass with no problem. I am great at standardized tests. Our certification tests as teachers have all been pretty easy for me. It all boils down to critical thinking and reasoning skills. So here is the thing I want to answer and I am not sure how: At what point did teaching change so much that kids can no longer think? I mean that seriously. When did teachers stop making kids learn and just spoon feed them the information? By giving kids the information all the time we have hurt them in my opinion. So, how do you fix it without killing test scores so badly that the state comes in and looks at your school or district? Ummm, things for me to ponder while I get some work done this morning.

I hope everyone has a great day! As my husband tells me: Have a great day, it is the only chance you will get at this one.